Lasiodiscus

Lasiodiscus
Lasiodiscus mildbraedii, pressed leaves showing opposite arrangement
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rhamnaceae
Genus: Lasiodiscus
J.D. Hook.
Species

See text

Lasiodiscus is a small plant genus in the family Rhamnaceae, endemic to Africa and its adjacent islands. The small trees have opposite, often asymmetric leaves. They regularly occur in the understorey of tropical forests, or alternatively in swamp forest. One species is limited to mountain forest understorey. Lasiodiscus is morphologically similar to Colubrina but preliminary molecular analysis failed to group them as nearest relatives.[1]

There are 9 species:

L. p. pervillei (widespread in Madagascar)
L. p. ferrugineus (Verdc.) (local in east Africa, Vulnerable)

Footnotes

  1. A phylogenetic analysis of Rhamnaceae using RBCL and TRNL-F plastid DNA sequences, J.E. Richardson et al., American Journal of Botany, 87(9), 2000.

External references

Note: The Lasiodiscidae belongs to the Foraminifera and Reichel (1945) described the genus Lasiodiscus.